Leaked media kit reveals IOC positions on most NGO issues
04/08/2008Finding it difficult to get through to IOC officials to get answers on issues relating to causes raised by various NGOs? Then help is at hand. The German public service broadcaster, Südwestrundfunk, has obtained and published a confidential Beijing Briefing Kit from 2007 with IOC positions on a wide range of NGO concerns.
The so-called one-year-to-go countdown resource carefully charts all the issues raised by NGOs before the Olympic Games and provides IOC officials with stock answers to feed to journalists on everything from freedom of speech and the environment to the relationship between China and Sudan.
Should a journalist for instance ask an IOC official a question about crackdowns on media freedom in the run up to the Olympics, the guidelines advise the interviewee to answer along these lines:
"Based on a historical perspective, more advances are being made than at any time in China's recent past. Journalists may not yet see the full effects of these new changes, but we are confident that with the time the adaptation will be successful."
The guidelines also contain an overview of planned NGO activities drawn up in the IOC's crisis communication department and a draft letter to NGOs that write in to ask the IOC to take action on certain issues.
Read what the IOC has to say on
- Social and political issues
- Chinese and Sudanese relations
- Bilateral relations and torch relay
- Freedom of speech and media
- Religious freedom
- Air quality and health risks
- Environment
- Business issues and ethics
- Ethically-sourced Olympic-branded goods
- Olympic athletes
Click here to read the leaked Beijing Briefing Kit on Südwestrundfunk's homepage.
